Hot Tub Time Machine is an absolutely ridiculous concept. It is. I mean how can you go back in time in a Hot Tub. Sure, in Back to the Future it was a DeLorean, but the writers explained the concept in a very scientific, almost plausible way. There is nothing plausible about traveling back in time in a hot tub, and the movie doesn‘t really attempt to explain the concept in a semi-realistic way, but for some reason, that’s okay. I suspended all my disbeliefs and just accepted the fact, and I had a blast with this movie.
The concept is simple…four guys go back in time to the 80s during a weekend getaway at a ski resort. When they first arrive, they think it’s a retro weekend, though a lot of the fashions that people were wearing are coming back in style—scary. However, they soon realize that they’ve traveled back in time. They quickly figure out the universal rule of time travel-You must do everything exactly how it happened, otherwise it could have consequences and it will alter the future. So, they begin to retrace their steps. What follows is hilarity and insanity that I won’t tempt to spoil.
The chemistry and bromance of the four main characters sell this movie. This movie has a very simple storyline, so without a solid cast, it would fall on his face, just like The Hangover hinges on the believability of the relationships of the main characters. The four main characters, John Cusack, Rob Corddry, Craig Robinson, and Clark Duke, are all unbelievably funny in their own way, and yet they’re all strangely sympathetic.
This movie is a lot of fun. Suspend the disbeliefs you might have about time travel, and you’ll have a blast. Also, this movie is worth a watch to see the amazing costumes and set design. This must have been those designers dream. The costumes were loud, tight and loose in all the wrong areas, and mismatched as only the 80s can do. If you’re a child of the 80s, you’ll have déjà vu with the appearance of walkmans, Jheri curls, and one characters obsession with Red Dawn and the Ruskies.
As a whole, I enjoyed it and would recommend it to everyone. I had a few problems with the special effects. There’s a point where the characters look in a mirror and “see” themselves as how they looked in the 80s, and the CGI is horrendous. And not in an ironic-80s-bad CGI-trying-to-be-funny-type of horrendous. It really looks like the CGI was off one day and a new guy worked on that part.
This is one of the first good comedies of 2010; however, I hope it’s not the only good comedy. Don’t get me wrong…I laughed and enjoyed this movie, but I’m not going to rush out and buy it as soon as it hits DVD. See this movie with a bunch a friends and laugh until your sides hurt, especially if you have any connection with the 80s.
No comments:
Post a Comment